Fenton Grueller 2013

Based in Garstang Preston, Fenton Fitness run by fitness expert Ric Fenton (right) hosted the Fenton Grueller. A mix of fitness enthusiasts and gym athletes turned up from all over the UK to take part, some traveling from the North in Scotland and others from the Solent in Southampton. Either way, they gathered, they competed and they showed the fitness industry what Performance is all about in a gym environment.

New Records ....

Great to see Gwen Fennell and Tracey Davies breaking the 19 minute barrier for the ladies advanced racing and now creating the Sub 19 Club for the Grueller . This has avoided the best of the best for years and now in one blow two people go into the record books. A great achievement for the Gym X Training era with these incredible performances.

Liam Florey joins Richard Vint and Ben Stroud in the Sub 18 Club. Something that is remarkable considering that Liam was competing at Intermediate just three years ago. Ty Whitlock from Virgin Active in Hedge End Southampton remarkable journey with Liam has been nothing short of amazing and what makes it even more exciting is I don't think we have seen the best of Liam yet!

Best race ...

WGC has something called Locked Racing (LR) and the last time we saw this was with Steve Mead and Danny Watson used to race , now Steve's best mate Paul Morton has found his absolute equal. A strange phenomena when two athletes will perform to the max and have a differential of around a second either way. Line these two guys up for a race any day of the week and I guarantee you , it will be edge of the seat stuff. having said all that, you can say that the excitement this room was watching these two great gym athletes perform was just worth the travel from all over the UK. Great race guys.

Paul Morton -The Best Race Of The Day Award - Charlie Paton

WGC favourite performance. ...

George Zolkiewski is an old hand at Gym X Training events. With work commitments and extensive travel he has missed much of the recent events, but watching George work his way down this course was nothing short of marvelous. It's something I love about Gym X Training , because this is where the Elite support the the guys going down the course. Throughout the challenge if you looked closely you could see Bobby McVitie (judge) encouraging, willing, pushing on George and it is here where Judge becomes mentor and disciplinarian. If a rep does not count, it doesn't count. It doesn't mean thats where it stops. The Grueller is a course where a kind word, encouragement and support count and I saw this clearly here. I saw it in all the races , but this was a memorable race for me.

The Shoulder Press record ...

Still stands - Ben Stroud still holds the only record for achieving the 60 in one hit with a 1:26. The nearest to this was Steve Dowse with a 1:38 split. The Grueller (Fenton) is the home of the 60's. Both the Bench Press and Shoulder Press in the Advanced levels brings to it a unique quality and hopefully for the many years that follow, this will be a real bench mark to try and break.

To watch out for ... Wayne Thomas ..

I had been speaking to Wayne Thomas for some time previous to this race. Having completed at Fit Brit and doing very well, it was time to up the ante and move onto the Grueller. Wayne was apprehensive of the shoulder press. A very strong runner, he would be the first to admit his weakness is in the lactic tolerance build up from the shoulders , so to test himself then.

I spoke to Wayne before his race and asked him to enjoy the experience. It is his first race after all "Get the experience, relax and enjoy it" I said and to be fair I think Wayne showed great spirit throughout with his race with Lloyd Millichap and the learning curve .. well Wayne hit the reset button on the treadmill and it did cost him. But if I was a betting man Id keep my eye on Wayne. The last time a quality Intermediate started off with such promise was a certain Mr Florey ...

The Boys From Maxifit Inverclyde Leisure ...

Bobby McVitie and his troop of gym athletes had a Hire Bus supplied by their gym in Scotland to bring those who wanted to compete to the event. A marvelous gesture. And proved very successful too, with the guys probably being the most successful from all the gyms that turned up. Bringing with it that unique sense of bondship and community is something Gym X Training adds to any gym.

The Wattbike ....

For the first time we were able to use the probably the best Upright bike on the market today. The Wattbike is an extremely proficient piece of equipment, replicating as close as possible the real working experience of bike riding. I used it and felt the smooth running and gear changes the best I have ever used. The instrument panel gave you clear, precise feedback on your performance and there were no complicated levels to adhere to. This then is the chosen bike of WGC and where possible this is the bike to use in future races.

Real Time Race Results ..

For the first time ever WGC was able to provide a screen for the competitors to see there results as soon as they had finished the race they were in. This meant that the crucial information of seeing what the splits were available to view, not just a finish time. As each race finished the splits were entered and each result was sent to the members of WGC personal file, with a complete breakdown of the day.

The results platform has always been available, but Fenton Fitness had a screen connected to the internet and this was a great opportunity to see how the system worked in a gym environment - in fact any gym that has a screen connected to the internet or a PC at work can use this technology.

The colours of athletes taking part represent if they are visitor to the site , or have attempted the World Gym Challenge (The Ultimate Gym Athlete) or what age group they are in. Data is inputted at events from anywhere in the world and centralised into a central leader board, so if you are an Advanced Gym Athlete (Blue) Elite Gym Athlete (Black) or just taking part (Green or light blue) they system instantly identifies your level of fitness (women have different colours) and updates your personal results folders instantly.

Results ... click on male or female tabs

Advanced ..

Intermediate ..

Novice .. (Women only)

Special (injury adaption)

Thank you ...

The day was superbly organised by Stuart Leng , who had spent weeks preparing the race details of making sure the whole day ran smoothly (of which it did). To Ric Fenton who, if he had not supplied the venue and equipment saved the Grueller from possibly never being attempted again. As it stands, two brand new records were set,with another gym athlete falling into the Male Sub 18 Club. And two absolute incredible performances by Gwen and Tracey.

It was simply worth every mile to travel to, compete and watch all the other gym athletes perform.

Sean Blyth

Founder World Gym Challenge.com

Breaking News ... Breaking News ... Breaking News ...

WGC now has the ability to create its very own online magazine. The Fenton Grueller and those who took part are more then welcome to submit any experiences they want to share or news they want included. It's a magazine for you the Gym Athlete.

Read the first Gym X Training Online Magazine Here

(Soon to be called the The Gym Athlete)